Welcome!

The work in the Wisdom and Culture Lab is oriented to a multitude of projects, but is guided by two key themes:

Demystifying wisdom -- a “philosopher’s stone” in behavioral sciences. Is there a unique quality distinguishing human excellence beyond abstract intelligence and existing personality dimensions or is wisdom just a pipedream? To address this question, we aim to uncover misconceptions about wisdom and identify psychological processes that enable people to think, feel, and act wisely.

Modeling of cultural change: For at least 150 years, social scientists have developed lofty theories about the origins and evolution of culture and the role of culture for psychology. Most of these theories have not been adequately tested, relying on anecdotal and cross-sectional observations. We aim to shift the paradigm by starting to study and model change in cultural and accompanying psychological processes.